Starting to build my wmo collection/filtration setup .

[diezelcrazee]

Edit: Does anyone know how to reverse the motor? That would be much easier.

Its possible with most motors, sometimes even those that arent designed as reversible. Some time back I switched a 2hp off a drill press and it wasnt designed to be reversed. Do a google search, lots of info out there. I guess I didn't save the site I used, can't find it anyway.....

 

[homelessduck]

I flipped the pump instead.

I haven't been able to get my fuge spinning as it should. I bring it up to 90lbs and I have to press my ear up to it to hear it barely spinning.

My open flow rate is 1.5gpm. Do I need to toss a larger pulley on my pump to try for more gpm?

I opened the fuge up after a few minutes and it was full of oil. I cleaned out the jets and stem, nothing was plugged.

 

[homelessduck]

Does the oil have to be heated? I know a lot of people heat it because it helps but does it HAVE to be heated for the oil to spray from the jets enough? It dumps oil out the bottom of the fuge so I assumed it was flowing enough.

 

[subway]

I know my fuge does not really spin up unless I 1. Heat the oil to thin it out or 2. Thin the oil out good with kero or gas. Sometimes it takes a bit to get it to spin up to.

 

[homelessduck]

My mix is just 50/50 wmo/atf so I guess that must be my problem. I'll buy supplies to plumb an inline water heater element tomorrow ... Yay, more $$ haha.

 

[Matrix37495]

I never could get my gear pump to turn once it was full of oil so i switched to a vane type power steering pump.

My 'fuge also doesn't want to spin very well until the oil is thinned out. I thin with kerosene, but heat would work too...

 

[homelessduck]

Where do you guys buy your kerosene and how much is it per gallon? I had 2 gallons of rug laying around so I tossed it in the drum last night. I'm going to try it again today, hopefully it spins better.

 

[homelessduck]

Now when I switch the motor off I can hear the fuge winding down pretty well. It is very quiet while running though. Does that sound right or should it be loud while running? I do hear a mild hum but it is nothing like I expected.

The pump I'm using now is a vane pump and it's really quiet

 

[homelessduck]

I ran it for a little over an hour .. Everything seemed fine, much quieter than anticipated. The fuge does hum pretty good but it's not nearly as loud as when it shuts off. It sounds like a jet when it winds down.

I have read people saying they can hear when it lifts up . I can't hear mine lift or drop.

Haven't had the time to open it up and see if it caught anything but I will this evening.

Also, the pressure bounces between ~88-90 , it isn't 100% stable. Is that going to be an issue?

 

[Matrix37495]

The kerosene i buy at Speedway is $4.299/gallon. Thornton's also has it but it was higher when i switched stations, now i think its the same...

My centrifuge itself is very quiet. The only real noise comes from the pump and motor. Occasionally there is some resonance in the plywood lid that just rests on the drum.

As far as hearing it lift or drop, i don't think ive heard that on mine, and it is very loud if i just shut the pump off (dropping from 95-0psi). I don't know if thats bad for it so i usually open the bypass to drop the 'fuge pressure to about 20psi for a minute to let the rotor slow down then shut the pump off. kind of like letting a turbo cool before shutting it down.

My pressure wavers a bit. As long as it doesn't spike above the mfgr's recommended max (95psi for a PABioDiesel), i wouldn't give it a second thought.

 

[homelessduck]

I didn't stop to think it might be bad for it. I'll start lowering it first like you do.
I should have the setup finished soon. I still need to setup the trash pump, make a roof/lid and plumb in a valve for filling the truck.

Thanks for the help!

 

[subway]

The cf sounds normal to me, mine bounces some to with the pressure. Mine is fairly load though since I have mine mounted in the center of the lid and it resonates a lot sometimes. The kero I get at a local station and it usually runs about 20-30 cents higher than diesel but it thins the mixture better.

 

[homelessduck]

Here is a picture of my first clean out. This is after spinning 10 gallons for about 80 minutes.

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And here is my collection / filtration setup. I still need to finish some things on it but it's almost done. ( add a support under the rear of the motor, attach collection pump fittings , run the lines to a permanent fitting on the barrel, build a hinged roof, permanently mount the pump/generator ...)

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[leswhitt]

I can hear the lift on mine, it's a medium/loud thunk within the first 3-4 seconds of turning the pump on. When I turn it off I don't bleed the pressure off either, in fact I don't even have an overflow on mine because I adjust the pump for 85 PSI and not touch it again. This helps me ensure that any oil that gets sucked into the pickup tube goes through the centrifuge and not back into the top of the barrel.

As for the pressure bouncing, mine does that on thin mixes when I'm running 25% or greater RUG but on anything less it holds pretty steady.

 

[homelessduck]

What size is your centrifuge? Mine is only a 55gph , maybe the size makes a difference in whether or not you hear it lift?